Books Blog : love, friendshttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/tags/love/friends/default.aspxTags: love, friendsenCommunityServer 2008 SP1 (Build: 30619.63)Recent Chick Lit Readshttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/10/14/recent-chick-lit-reads.aspxWed, 14 Oct 2009 21:33:00 GMT9a7b961d-7882-4302-b701-732ca0e566f2:1902KickinLibrarian@evpl0http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=1902http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/10/14/recent-chick-lit-reads.aspx#comments<p><img height="211" width="163" src="http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2009/09/28/image5345445.jpg" alt="Prospect Park West" style="margin:10px;" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img height="214" width="161" src="http://www.halogenlife.com/shared_assets/images/0002/6921/mercury.jpg" alt="Mercury in Retrograde" style="margin:10px;vertical-align:bottom;" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img height="215" width="162" src="http://www.sweetspot.ca/uploaded_images/TwentiesGirl.jpg" alt="Twenties Girl" style="margin:10px;" /></p>
<p>In the past few weeks since my last blog post, I have been on a chick-lit rampage.&nbsp; I have been speed-reading through recent releases like I don&#39;t have a hundred other things to do.&nbsp; Laundry piled up, kitchen didn&#39;t get cleaned, and packing for my move didn&#39;t happen.&nbsp; These three books are part of the reason that I have been slacking.&nbsp; </p>
<p><em>Prospect Park West&nbsp;</em>by Amy Sohn&nbsp;takes place in Brooklyn&#39;s prosperous&nbsp;Park Slope&nbsp;neighborhood.&nbsp; The lives of four women intersect as they deal with husbands, children, and playground politics.&nbsp; Not earth-shattering reading, but worth a chance if you have the time.</p>
<p><em>Mercury in </em>Retrograde by Paula&nbsp;Froelich has a cover&nbsp;strikingly similar&nbsp;to Prospect Park West.&nbsp;&nbsp;Froelich&#39;s novel takes place across the bridge in Manhattan where three&nbsp;women who are down on their luck join forces to get their lives back in order.&nbsp; The ending&nbsp;is pretty predictable, but it is an enjoyable read.</p>
<p>Going across the pond to England, Sophie Kinsella&#39;s&nbsp;latest book<em>, Twenties&nbsp;Girl</em>, introduces us&nbsp;to&nbsp;Sadie, a wild flapper from the 1920s and her great-niece, Lara, living in&nbsp;present-day London.&nbsp; Sadie has passed away alone in a retirement home, but&nbsp;her spirit remains on&nbsp;Earth pushing Lara to find&nbsp;who stole Sadie&#39;s prized possession.&nbsp;&nbsp;True to Kinsella form, this book is laugh out loud funny and&nbsp;highly recommended.&nbsp; </p>
<p>Happy Reading!&nbsp;</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://evpl.org/community/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1902" width="1" height="1">humorreviewsfictionbookschick litLondonfunnylovewomenfriendsSophie KinsellaAmy SohnPaula FroelichCommencement http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/09/11/commencement.aspxFri, 11 Sep 2009 17:47:00 GMT9a7b961d-7882-4302-b701-732ca0e566f2:1842KickinLibrarian@evpl0http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=1842http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/09/11/commencement.aspx#comments<p><img height="431" width="300" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3561/3512948033_86a3d3c0a7.jpg" alt="Commencement" style="float:left;margin:10px;" />It is sometimes hard to believe that I graduated from USI over five years ago.&nbsp; That may seem like no time at all for some people, but sometimes I still feel like I am 21 again.&nbsp; Sometimes I forget that I am a &quot;grown-up&quot; with a &quot;grown-up&quot; job and bills, house payments, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;Many of my favorite memories&nbsp;involved my roommates and&nbsp;friends from college&nbsp;walking to class, throwing a frisbee outside the apartments, and staying up late to talk about the&nbsp;future.&nbsp; </p>
<p>When I read the premise behind <em>Commencement</em> by J. Courtney Sullivan, I knew I had to read it.&nbsp; After waiting a few weeks because of all the holds (I wish librarians got priority sometime!), I stayed up late in the night reading this book.&nbsp; I connected with the characters&nbsp;created by Sullivan&nbsp;because I could see a bit of myself, and my friends, in each of the four main characters.</p>
<p>Set in the late 1990s at Smith College, Celia, Sally, Bree, and April are put together as hall-mates.&nbsp; On first glance, the four seem to have nothing in common and have no desire to befriend one another.&nbsp; As they go through the early days of college, however, they learn to rely on one another and form a bond that lasts through their college years.&nbsp; The differences come to head in their early twenties as the four split off to separate lives.&nbsp; </p>
<p>At Sally&#39;s wedding a few years&nbsp;later,&nbsp;an argument occurs that leaves a rift between the four best friends.&nbsp; Gradually, they all begin to realize that life isn&#39;t as easy without each other and when one of the four goes missing, they come together to search for their missing link.&nbsp; </p>
<p>One of the best things about this book was that most of us can relate to an argument between friends.&nbsp; I just happened to get this book when one of my closest friends and I seemed to be constantly at odds.&nbsp; After reading <em>Commencement</em>, I realized that life without her wouldn&#39;t be the same and emailed her an apology.&nbsp; Growing up&nbsp;and getting older isn&#39;t&nbsp;simple, but it&nbsp;is easier to manage with great friends.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://evpl.org/community/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1842" width="1" height="1">reviewsfictionbooksrecommendedfunnygrowing uplovefriendscollege studentscollegeLove As Always, Kurt: Vonnegut As I Knew Him, by Loree Rackstrawhttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/09/07/love-as-always-kurt-vonnegut-as-i-knew-him-by-loree-rackstraw.aspxMon, 07 Sep 2009 06:21:00 GMT9a7b961d-7882-4302-b701-732ca0e566f2:1826Bufkinite@evpl0http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=1826http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/09/07/love-as-always-kurt-vonnegut-as-i-knew-him-by-loree-rackstraw.aspx#comments<p><img height="300" width="198" alt="Jacket art - Love As Always, Kurt" src="http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafe/Jacket.aspx?UserID=III21&amp;Password=BT0005&amp;Return=1&amp;Type=L&amp;Value=9780306818035" style="float:left;" />In September of 1965 Lorree Rackstraw was a graduate student in her second year at the Iowa Writer&#39;s Workshop, apprehensive about her new teacher, a relatively unknown writer named Kurt Vonnegut.&nbsp; Vonnegut had published just three books: <em><a target="_blank" href="http://encore.evpl.org/iii/encore/record/C%7CRb1712920%7CSsirens+of+titan%7COrightresult?lang=eng&amp;suite=def">The Sirens of Titan</a></em>, <em><a target="_blank" href="http://encore.evpl.org/iii/encore/record/C%7CRb1712901%7CSmother+night%7COrightresult?lang=eng&amp;suite=def">Mother Night</a></em>, and <em><a target="_blank" href="http://encore.evpl.org/iii/encore/search/C%7CScat%27s+cradle+vonnegut%7COrightresult%7CU1?lang=eng&amp;suite=def">Cat&#39;s Cradle</a></em>.&nbsp; He&#39;d also finished writing <i><a target="_blank" href="http://encore.evpl.org/iii/encore/search/C%7CSRosewater+vonnegut%7COrightresult%7CU1?lang=eng&amp;suite=def">God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater</a></i> the previous spring, and was struggling to get onto paper what he referred to as his &quot;Dresden Book.&quot;</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://encore.evpl.org/iii/encore/record/C%7CRb1894095%7CSLove+as+always%2C+Kurt%7COrightresult?lang=eng&amp;suite=def"><i>Love As Always, Kurt</i></a>, recounts the friendship that began that summer, and lasted over 40 years, until Kurt Vonnegut died in April of 2007. To call it a friendship cheapens the care that this memoir makes clear they shared with one another. &nbsp;Rackstraw is now Professor Emeritus and the University of Northern Iowa &amp; former editor of <i>The North American Review.</i></p>
<p>This memoir of Rackstraw&#39;s forty-year relationship with Kurt Vonnegut is a very personal and deep look into both the human and the writer behind the name Kurt Vonnegut. &nbsp;We see clearly how, as a writer, he labors in draft after draft of everything he wrote from <i><a target="_blank" href="http://encore.evpl.org/iii/encore/search/C%7CSvonnegut+slaughterhouse+five%7COrightresult%7CU1?lang=eng&amp;suite=def">Slaughterhouse Five</a></i> to <i><a target="_blank" href="http://encore.evpl.org/iii/encore/record/C%7CRb1693689%7CSman+without+a+country%7COrightresult?lang=eng&amp;suite=def">Man Without a Countr</a>y</i>, and down to the speeches he gave at countless colleges, universities, graduations, and memorial services. &nbsp;We see, just as clearly, how he champions common humanity, and simultaneously enjoys the company of the famous and relatively well-to-do. &nbsp;We see how, despite periods of darkness and cynicism, this relationship buoyed Vonnegut, and provided Rackstraw with an escape from the pressures of her academic career as well.</p>
<p>We see, most plainly, a deep and abiding friendship that transcends all normal definitions. &nbsp;Was it love? &nbsp;Definitely. &nbsp;What it friendship? &nbsp;In the most useful meaning of the word, yes. &nbsp;But it was more: it was a collegial relationship - Vonnegut sent her page proofs of everything from <i>Slaughterhouse Five</i> forward; it was an intimate relationship, certainly: &quot;Kurt and I toured the town of Key West, hand in hand like kids, and took photographs of each other beside somebody else&#39;s catch of a huge fish... Later, we danced barefoot under moonlight on that beach, to ragtime music from the piano bar;&quot; and ultimately, it was a lifelong relationship, that saw a parting of the ways only in the death of one.</p>
<p>Being a long-time Vonnegut fan, I loved this book. &nbsp;It represents a first-hand account of four decades of his life by someone who he consistently loved, and who loved him in return. &nbsp;A tender portrait.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://evpl.org/community/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1826" width="1" height="1">reviewsbooksWorld War IIfamiliesbiographymemoirold manWWIIWord War II -- fictionbooks and readinglovefriendsrelationshipsLoree RackstrawKurt VonnegutwritersRemarkable Story of an Owl and His Girlhttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/08/07/remarkable-story-of-an-owl-and-his-girl.aspxFri, 07 Aug 2009 18:13:00 GMT9a7b961d-7882-4302-b701-732ca0e566f2:1744wag.mado@evpl4http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=1744http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/08/07/remarkable-story-of-an-owl-and-his-girl.aspx#comments<p><img width="196" src="http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafe/Jacket.aspx?UserID=III21&amp;Password=BT0005&amp;Return=1&amp;Type=L&amp;Value=9781416551737" alt="Wesely the Owl" height="267" style="float:left;" />Yes, that&#39;s the subtitle of the book I just finished. <a href="http://evans.evpl.org/search~S0?/twesley%20the%20owl/twesley+the+owl/1%2C3%2C3%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=twesley+the+owl+the+remarkable+love+story+of+an+owl+and+his+girl&amp;1%2C1%2C" title="Wesley the Owl">Wesley the Owl</a> is a must for anyone who has ever been in love with an animal. The story is written by Stacey O&#39;Brien, who was a lab assistant at Cal Tech when she adopted a 4-day-old barn owl after he suffered permanent nerve damage and could not survive in the wild. </p>
<p>The story, which spans close to 20 years, is filled with fascinating anecdotes of the relationship that developed between these two sentient beings. O&#39;Brien&#39;s education as a biologist helps the reader understand many interesting facts about barn owls, but that does not keep her from falling deeply in love with Wesley. &nbsp;The story has a deeper meaning which is about unconditional love and commitment and is referred to many times in the book as &quot;the way of the owl.&quot;</p>
<p>I found this memoir humorous, heartwarming, educational, compassionate, and I had a hard time putting it down.&nbsp; I&#39;ll never think of barn owls the same again.</p>
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<p>A day after finishing the book, I tuned in to Oprah where she featured a man whose best friend is a <a href="http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090416-tows-amazing-animals" title="Oprah Amazing Animal Friendships">Grizzly Bear</a>. That segment was followed by a friendship between an elephant and a dog at the <a href="http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090416-tows-amazing-animals/9" title="Oprah Amazing Animal Friendships">Elephant Sanctuary</a> in Hohenwald Tennessee -- the same place where Evansville&#39;s beloved &quot;Bunny&quot; lived out her last few years. Must have been my week for animal relationship stories!</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://evpl.org/community/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1744" width="1" height="1">nonfictionhumorreviewsbooksdogsoprahmemoirlove storiesnaturerecommendedanimalslovefriendsGrizzly bearsElephantsowlsAnimal Dreams -- Books for Lunch at Red Bank Branchhttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/04/01/animal-dreams-books-for-lunch-at-red-bank-branch.aspxWed, 01 Apr 2009 17:58:00 GMT9a7b961d-7882-4302-b701-732ca0e566f2:1391Shh_ImReading@evpl0http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=1391http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/04/01/animal-dreams-books-for-lunch-at-red-bank-branch.aspx#comments<p>On Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at noon we will be discussing <em><a target="_blank" href="http://evans.evpl.org/search~S0?/tanimal%20dreams/tanimal+dreams/1%2C3%2C3%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=tanimal+dreams+a+novel&amp;1%2C1%2C">Animal Dreams</a></em> by <a target="_blank" href="http://evans.evpl.org/search~S0/?searchtype=a&amp;searcharg=kingsolver+barbara%7C&amp;sortdropdown=c&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=aKingsolver%2C+Barbara">Barbara Kingsolver</a> at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.evpl.org/aboutus/locations/rb/">Red Bank Branch Library</a>.&nbsp;I could hardly put <em>Animal Dreams</em> down while I was reading it and I hope you&#39;ll enjoy it too.&nbsp;Codi, her father&nbsp;and the other&nbsp;characters are wonderful and the&nbsp;small town of Grace, Arizona captivated my imagination.&nbsp;Barbara Kingsolver is my mother&#39;s favorite author and she&#39;s been&nbsp;recommending her books to&nbsp;me for years. I&#39;m so glad I&#39;ve finally taken her advice! Please come and join us for the discussion; the more the merrier!</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.kingsolver.com/home/index.asp">click here to visit author Barbara Kingsolver&#39;s website</a></p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://evpl.org/community/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1391" width="1" height="1">red bank branchfictionbook discussionsfamiliesnatureloveArizonafatherssmall townsistersBarbara Kingsolverfriends